Merriam Press Military Monograph 298. Sixth Edition (March 2012). In addition to details about the award itself, each of the 160 recipients (76 Heer, 54 Luftwaffe, five Kriegsmarine, and 24 Waffen-SS) are detailed in the order they received the "Swords." Details of each recipient's award of each class of the Knight's Cross are also provided. A wealth of information and data in a handy, singular reference. Contents: * Introduction * Heer * Luftwaffe * Kriegsmarine * Waffen-SS * Bibliography * 157 Photos.

Profiles of the 98 German soldiers--out of millions--who received both the Knight's Cross (for extreme bravery) and the Close-Combat Clasp in Gold (for at least 50 days of hand-to-hand fighting) during World War II.

Much has been written about the capture of Fort Eben Emael Belgium by German paratroopers, on May 10, 1940. This operation marked the first use of gliders and shaped charges, while proved possible drop paratroopers behind enemy lines. The training, secret, accuracy and speed, in addition to the element of surprise, these men became lethal, causing chaos among Belgian soldiers.??However, it should be stressed that these paratroopers were part of a larger group: The Sturmablteilung Koch (Koch Assault Group), the elite of the Luftwaffe in 1940, whose mission was not only to take Eben Emael, but also the three bridges over the Alberto canal near: Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Kanne. The success of the attack on Belgium and France would depend on the rapid conquest of those bridges.??The aim of this book is to show how it was planned and carried out the assault on the Albert Canal bridges. All this not only through a supported text documents, records and evidence, but also by many photos never published until now. Every detail, from the creation of the Koch Assault Group, until the final attack, has been closely scrutinized by reference to the best sources, as well as testimonies of Belgian and German soldiers.??About the authors: ”scar Gonzàlez LÑpez has a degree in Philosophy and teaches History and Philosophy. As a military historian his research has focused on the Fallschirmj_ger as well as the Spanish volunteers in the German Army during the Second World War, through close contact with many former veterans. Amongst other books, he has published Fallschirmj_ger at the Gran Sasso and German Paratroops in Scandinavia. He lives in Spain.??Thomas Steinke studied at the Otto-von-Guericke University in Magdeburg, Germany. He takes part in the 'Volksbund Dr. Kriegsgr_berfÙrsorge', being involved in the search and care of German War graves of the Second World War, as well as in educational activities whose main goal is to improve the mutual and peaceful understanding amongst the European people. The focus of his studies has long been German paratroopers, in particular the members of the Sturmabteilung Koch and the LL-Sturmregiment.??Ian Tannahill holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from the University of Queensland, Australia, and is a registered patent and trade mark attorney. His interest in the Fallschirmj_ger was sparked by an article he read as a teenager on the fall of the fortress of Eben Emael. His contact with former German paratroopers ignited a desire within Ian to tell the world about the capture of the Albert Kanal bridges by the Fallschirmj_ger and glider pilots of Sturmabteilung Koch.

From the dawn of organized conflict, sub-standard men--the inverse of the elites that get the lion's share of our attention-- have served their countries. This is their untold history.

By 1943, the war was lost, and most German officers knew it. Three quarters of a century later, the question persists: What kept the German army going in an increasingly hopeless situation? Where some historians have found explanations in the power of Hitler or the role of ideology, Robert M. Citino, the world’s leading scholar on the subject, posits a more straightforward solution: Bewegungskrieg, the way of war cultivated by the Germans over the course of history. In this gripping account of German military campaigns during the final phase of World War II, Citino charts the inevitable path by which Bewegungskrieg, or a “war of movement,” inexorably led to Nazi Germany’s defeat. The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand analyzes the German Totenritt, or “death ride,” from January 1944—with simultaneous Allied offensives at Anzio and Ukraine—until May 1945, the collapse of the Wehrmacht in the field, and the Soviet storming of Berlin. In clear and compelling prose, and bringing extensive reading of the German-language literature to bear, Citino focuses on the German view of these campaigns. Often very different from the Allied perspective, this approach allows for a more nuanced and far-reaching understanding of the last battles of the Wehrmacht than any now available. With Citino’s previous volumes, Death of the Wehrmacht and The Wehrmacht Retreats, The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand completes a uniquely comprehensive picture of the German army’s strategy, operations, and performance against the Allies in World War II.